■^ 



E 

■I 



A 




MEMORIAL ADDRESS 



DELIVERED AT THE REQUEST OF THE 
CITY COUNCIL OF BOSTON 



INSTALLATION OF A BRONZE STATUE 



ADMIRAL FARRAGUT 



IN THE MARINE PARK 



JUNE 28, 1893 



BY 



ALEXANDER H. RICE 

FORMERLY CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON NAVAL AFFAIRS OF THE 
HOUSE or REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES 



BOSTON 

Press of Rockwell and Churchill 

1893 




Class ^^^^ 

•I 
Book- 



r2.3l( 



^ 



A y-s 

MEMORIAL ADDRESS 



DELIVERED AT THE REQUEST OF THE 
CITY COUNCIL OF BOSTON 



INSTALLATION OF A BRONZE STATUE 



ADMIRAL FARRAGUT 



IN THE MARINE PARK 



JUNE 28, 1893 



BY 



ALEXANDER H. RICE 

FORMERLY CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON NAVAL AFFAIRS OF THE 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES 



BOSTON 
Press of Rockwell and Churchill 

1893 



^ 1 3 H f 






A MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



There is no demonstration to which the heart re- 
sponds more promptly and completely than to an ex- 
hibition of lofty and self-forgetful patriotism. It is this 
fact which gives significance to all memorial emblems, 
whether they be institutions, monuments, statues, or tab- 
lets ; for they each and all seek to perpetuate deeds and 
the quality of lives which have won the admiration of 
mankind. 

We realize this in the efforts made to keep alive by 
private and specific emblems the affectionate memory 
and example of our departed relatives and friends, to 
whom we fondly atribute most of the virtues ; but there 
is also a geneiic quality in the tribute to patriotism when 
the universal public concentrates its admiration upon 
an ideal, more or less frequently represented by an in- 
dividual example, worthy of the emulation of all men. 
Indeed, it is this ideal — the measure of a character ly- 
ing behind all action — as well as the deeds themselves 
which we seek to commemorate. 

This endowment appears to be inherent in human na- 
ture; and hence among all nations and in all periods of 
time we find monuments commemorative of those es- 
teemed to be wise, or good, or heroic; which monu- 
ments are at one and the same time evidences of the 
grandeur of genuine manhood, and the authoritative 
teachers of all subsequent generations. 



It is not enough that the description of great hves 
and of their achievements be embodied in the literature 
of a people; for all do not read, especially do not have 
the leisure of the library and the scholar, nor even the 
enchanting literary opportunities of the fireside and 
home; we must, therefore, have palpable objects in mon- 
uments, statues, and tablets which shall represent the 
heroic qualities of men, and must place these in con- 
spicuous places where they shall be seen by the pubhc, 
and where their imagery, like the sunshine in nature, 
shall cause the minds of all beholders to become fruitful 
in desire and effort to go and do likewise. What would 
life be without its great examples ? And how empty 
the world without the remembrance of its great artifi- 
cers and heroes ! How tiresome and shallow would 
history be without the story of the benefactors of man- 
kind ! 

We come, therefore, to-day, to set up another me- 
morial to the greatest naval hero of modern times ; not 
in the hope to enhance but to perpetuate the fame of 
Admiral Farragut, and to show that this is a commu- 
nity that can rightly appreciate the nobility of his char- 
acter and the valor of his deeds. 

In contemplating a great character we are wont to 
seek the germs of greatness in inheritance; and we 
sometimes look in far-ofi* generations for some individ- 
ual of a lineage whose magnificent characteristics are 
newly born, perhaps with superior lustre, in his suc- 
cessor. While the ancestry of Admiral Farragut ap- 
pears to have been illustrious in individuals of civil, 
military, and priestly celebrity, yet, with the exception 
of the renowned Don Pedro Farragut, who served un- 
der James I., King of Aragon, in 1229, in the cam- 
paigns which resulted in the expulsion of the Moors 



from Majorca, and from Valencia in 1238, if there be* 
any adventiirons spirit like the great Admiral himself, 
the horizon of history closes down before we are able 
to identify him in the constellation of glories to which 
he immediately belonged. About all else of special in- 
terest that we know of the family is that the Admiral's 
father was born in the Island of Minorca in the Med- 
iterranean Sea, Sept. 29, 1755, and that he was not of 
that Anglo-Saxon race for which we are accustomed to 
claim almost everything worthy of commemoration, but 
that he was of pure Spanish blood, which in these Col- 
umbian days may justly claim a respectable share in 
the line of maritime exj^loits, as well as in the tradition- 
ary development of good fighting qualities. At the time 
of Farragut's father's birth, however, the island of Mi- 
norca was under the British flag, having been ceded to 
the British Crown by the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713. 
In March, 1776, when twenty-one years old, having long- 
before severed his connection with his native country, 
George Farragut, the Admiral's father, emigrated to 
North America, then in the early struggles of the Rev- 
olutionary War, immediately espoused the cause of the 
colonists and served gallantly during the entire conflict. 
At the close of the Revolutionary War, in the search 
of his own fortune and the welfare of his family, he fol- 
lowed the adventurous spirit of those days to the bor- 
ders of civilization, then at the meeting-place of ]Nrorth 
Carolina and Tennessee, where he settled and married 
a lady, native of Dobbs County, in the former State. 
She appears to have been a woman of excellent natural 
endowments, possessing withal the courage and forti- 
tude necessary to meet bravely with her household the 
dangerous necessities of a frontier neighborhood. It 
was here, in East Tennessee, at Campbell's Station, 



6 

near the present city of Knoxville, that David Glasgow 
Farragiit, whom this splendid statue seeks to com- 
memorate, was born on July 5, 1801; about as near 
to July 4th, you will observe, as he could get without 
trenching upon the great national holiday in that year. 
Shortly after the birth of this son, the Farragut family 
removed to Louisiana and settled by the borders of 
Lake Pontchartrain. 

If the early biography of Admiral Farragut be limi- 
ted and simple (and so far as I know, outside of public 
documents, it is chiefly embodied in a volunie written 
by his son, Mr. Loyall Farragut, of ]N^ew York, and in 
another by Captain A. T. Mahan, U.S.JST., from each of 
which I have drawn liberally in the preparation of this 
address), if, T sa}^, it be limited and simple, it is also 
singularly picturesque, romantic, and providential; 
indeed, from first to last, his cai*eer appears to have 
been guided and directed by an inscrutable Providence, 
which led his associates and followers to say so often 
that he had a " charmed life." 

What, for example, could possibly seem more provi- 
dential than the incident which occurred upon the lake 
by which they lived in Louisiana, when Farragut was a 
boy scarcely eight years old, and yet which opened the 
way and shaped it for that wonderful career which has 
given world-wide celebrity to his name? We are told 
that one day while his father was out fishing on the 
lake he casually fell in with another fisherman who was 
prostrated in his boat by the heat, whom he took to his " 
own house and nursed and cared for until he died. 
This sufferer proved to be David Porter, the father of 
Capt. David Porter, the noble commander of the frigate 
" Essex," of reputable fame, and grandfather of Admiral 
David D. Porter, who succeeded Admiral Farragut in 






the highest naval rank m this country, hirgely because 
of his distinguished achievements in the War of the 
Kebellion. The Porters were bound in lasting grati- 
tude to the Farraguts for their kindness to the suflPeiing 
fisherman; and as Mrs. Farragut, the Admiral's mother, 
died at about the same time as Mr. Porter, the two were 
buried on the same day, thus cementing in the sacred 
solemnities of death the providential incident which 
initiated their acquaintance. 

Previous to the incidents just stated, young Far- 
ragut's father had received a saiUng-master's commis- 
sion in the navy and commanded a gunboat, so that 
his active services were frequently required in allaying 
disturbances during the dispute concerning boundaries 
then existing between the United States and the Span- 
ish Government, to which latter Florida then belonged. 
The boy Farragut appears to have been the special 
recipient of the kindness and grateful offices of Captain 
Porter, who took him into his S23ecial care, placed him 
at school at Chester, Pa., and afterwards took him as 
his charge and companion on board the vessels which 
he commanded. Farragut thus obtained a midshipman's 
commission before he was nine years old, which case 
probably has no parallel in the history of the American 
^avy. He was ten years and one month old only 
when he joined the " Essex," a brave, self-reliant, adven- 
turous, but dutiful boy, afterwards eminently fit to 
command, because early accustomed to obey. The 
" Essex " was built at Salem, Mass., and paid for by the 
patriotic contributions of the citizens of that place. 
Captain Porter took command of her in August, 1811, 
young Farragut being with him, and the frigate was 
then lying at ^orfolk,Va. On the 18th of June, 1812, 
only about eleven months afterwards, the Congress of 



8 

the United States declared war against Great Britain, 
and this declaration was read to the crew of the " Essex " 
on three successive days, so that no British subject on 
board, if there chanced to be one, should be required to 
serve against his flag. Tliere being none who were 
not liable to duty, the "Essex " sailed for her memorable 
cruise in the Pacific Ocean. She was the first Ameri- 
can man-of-war to pass around Cape Horn, as she had 
been the first to double the Cape of Good Hope, and 
her experience was a rough one, but it was followed by 
a series of almost uninterrupted successes and victories, 
until she finally encountered the British frigate 
" Phoebe " and the British sloop-of-war " Cherub," 
early in February, 1814, oflJ" Valparaiso, Chili. A com- 
bined attack was made upon her by these two vessels 
while half the men belonging to the " Essex " were on 
shore; but upon a signal being given, the men were 
all aboard the "Essex " in fifteen minutes, and all but one 
prepared for duty. After one of the most desperate 
battles ever fought upon the ocean, under the adverse 
conditions of contending with two vessels of the enemy 
of greatly snperior force, herself disabled by a furious 
storm, all her officers but one killed, and the "Essex " on 
fire, she surrendered in a defeat, like that on land at 
Bunker Hill, Avhich was more glorious than the victory. 
The commander of the British forces, Capt. Ilillyard, 
was wounded, and died before the engagement ended. 
In his note-book young Farragut says: "Dm*ing the 
action I performed the duties of captain's aid, quarter- 
gunner, powder-boy, and in fact did everything that 
was required of me. I shall never forget the horrid 
impression made upon me at the sight of the first man 
I had ever seen killed. He was a boatswain's mate 
and was fearfully mutilated. It staggered and sick- 



9 

ened me at first; but they soon began to fall around me 
so fast that it all appeared to me like a dream, and 
produced no effect upon my nerves." " I can remem- 
ber well," he continues, " while I was standing near 
the captain, just abaft the mainmast, a shot came 
through the waterways and glanced upward, killing 
four men who were standing beside the gun, taking 
the last one in the head and scattering his brains over 
both of us. But this awful sight did not affect me half 
as much as the death of the first poor fellow. I 
neither thought of nor noticed anything but the work- 
ing of the guns." 

Such was the literal baptism by fire and blood of the 
young midshipman and future Admiral, as if fate, or 
that Divine Providence which he always reverently 
recognized, intended thus signally to forecast his 
illustrious destiny. 

Later on in his journal young Farragut wrote: 
" After the battle had ceased, when, on going below I 
saw the mangled bodies of my shipmates, dead and 
dying, groaning and expiring with the most patriotic 
sentiments on their lips, I became faint and sick; my 
sympathies were all aroused ; among the badly wounded 
was one of my best friends, Lieut. Cowell. When I 
spoke to him he said, ' Oh Davy, I fear it is all up with 
me ; ' but when it was proposed to drop another patient 
and attend to him, he replied, ^ JSTo, doctor, none of 
that; fair play is a jewel. One man's life is as good as 
another's ; I would not cheat any poor fellow out of his 
turn.' Thus died," continues the journal, " one of the 
best and bravest men among us." 

After this momentous battle, Porter and his surviving 
officers and crew were sent to ISTew York under parole, 
himself receiving an enthusiastic ovation from the 



10 

people, who TO'jt the horses fix>iii his carriag-e and drew 
ii ihemselves i' _ street- r city. Xocnz 

Pirra^rnt was i^-— - ^.-^-i at s.. ^: Chester, Pa.. 

^::ere there were some innovatioiis tipoii the c-nstom- 
aiy methods of teaehiog". bnt in which we now recog- 
nize some of the in«:»st approved elements of modern 
sradT. hj If""^^ : " ■ ":"-:--"':?. It has some- 
timt^ been : - : a lad taten a'^s'ay 

&OiBL the early opp^itimities for schooling, and entering 
tiie GoTeraiDent seroee at so early an age, could have 



did ac<:-omplish. It mnst be borne in mind, in this con- 
nection, that Captain Poner w^as his feithfol and almost 
paternal _ . that when young F: ~ 

not '~ - - -.: _ _- -ler. he ^ras imder in?: :. ^. _i 

the ■: _s of the fleei to which he was at the time 

attajched and in companionable intercotirse with officers 
^whc' were men of polite and : - 

~ - "-' '— :':-■'- _■ -^ r- ''~ are. ^__~ :_r .-..._ -: 

versity. in which y onng F _ 
enlarged Ms sphere of ^knowledge and strengthened 
thosie natural iz ~ers i?rmch supplemented 

F" ■ - — 'fare of h: = 

c :- . -. -: _-. - :i :_- first "^v.:_ 

resj*ec-l: to him. as TVords worth says. ti:it 

~ The ehUd i^ fssbcjr c-f ti^ jusa." 



^;i ^-.Qj^ ^e migh: vards apply to Farragut 

are's immortal definition, and sav. 



SST V. - :xn."" 



11 

Dnrmg the year following the arrival of the ^ Essex" 
in Xew York, he was paroled, and thus enabled to 
retiim to active service. Farragnt was connected with 
several different vessels in cruises at home and in 
foreign seas, and was abroad for fonr years, daring a 
portion of which time he was under the instruction of 
^Ir. Charles Folsom. of Cambridge. Mass.. then our 
consid at Tunis, in Africa, where he studied mathe- 
matics. English Literature. French and Italian, and 
made personal investigation of the ancient civilization 
estabHshed at Carthage and vicinity during the period 
of the great Eoman Empire. He had a special apti- 
tude for languages and spoke several modem tongues 
with ease and fluency. After his return to the United 
States in 1820 he passed a successful examination 
and was promoted from the rank of midshipman to 
lieutenant in the navy. 

In February, 1S23. Farragut joined the Mosr^tiito 
fleet under Capt. Porter, to exterminate the pirates 
which infested the Caribbean Sea, and was eminently 
successful in that his last oflieial connection with his 
life-long mentor and benefactor. It will thus be seen 
how extraordinary were the opportunities, and how 
exceptional the iustruction and discipline that young 
Farragut received for discharging the highest duties 
and assuming the weightiest responsibilities of the 
naval service. Ulustrions as were the services of 
Capt. Porter all through his honorable and brilliant 
career, could all secrets be revealed, it would be 
found, perhaps, that all his other achievements were 
excelled by his training of the youth who was destined 
to be the greatest naval officer of modem times, and 
to make a fame for himself and for his country that 
has penetrated to the remotest corners of the earth. 



12 

From this time (namely, the cruise of the Mosquito 
fleet) till the beginning of the War of the Rebellion, 
the experience of Farragut was, for the most part, 
we are told, that of naval officers in general in time 
of peace, except that he improved every opportunity of 
study, observation, or experience to more completely 
qualify himself for the highest duties of his profession ; 
as if the great future which ultimately oj^ened to 
him had already been revealed. During this period 
he cruised in foreign seas, did bureau and commission 
duty at home, attended lectures at the Smithsonian 
Institute in "Washington, etc. 

We have noticed that in the earliest part of his 
career, and during his first fighting experience on 
the "Essex," while covered with blood himself, and 
standing where men were falling all around him, he 
says, "I neither thought of nor noticed anything 
but the working of the guns." That might appro- 
priately be taken as his motto: he always had Ms 
eye on the guns; and nothing, not even the terrible 
rage of battle, could so confuse him as to distract 
his attention from the legitimate duties of his 
profession. He carefully studied "the working of 
the guns," and every change in the naval equipment, 
experimental or permanent, the movements of every 
battle, the effects of any conflict upon diflerent kinds 
of defences, and whatever could contribute to his 
stock of naval knowledge. 

During the period between the expedition of the 
Mosquito fleet and the breaking out of the Civil 
War, Farragut was promoted first to the rank of 
commander, and then of captain in the navy ; which 
latter rank he held when the Rebellion broke out. 

The occurrence of the Civil War was one of the 



18 

most moniciitoiis events in the history of the world. 
Upon its issues hung not only the hopes of liberty 
and the fate of republican governments throughout 
the world, but there was no government nor people 
who would not have felt its influence in some modi- 
fying particular, if the American Union had been 
destroyed. This country was too large and its 
influence and example too powerful to allow these 
issues to be pent up within its own borders. This 
was seen by sagacious statesmen throughout the 
world; and hence the declaration at a critical moment 
by Prince Gortschalcofl*, the Prime Minister of Pussia, 
that "the preservation of the American Union was 
essential to the peace of the world," produced a 
signiflcant effect upon ^France and England when 
they were manifesting some hesitancy as to the di- 
rection in which their sympathies should be thrown. 

Although the contest was to be a domestic one, — 
a war l)etween contending States, — yet as the country 
was ocean bound, and linked in close commercial 
relations witli other maritime powers, it was evident 
from the beginning that a powerful navy would be 
required for defence, if not for conquest. Perhaps 
no nation was ever less prepared for a great naval 
test. The warships were few in number, though 
some were of good pattern and equipment for that 
day — a strong contrast to this day, when modern 
American cruisers fully equipped make more than 
eighty miles in four hours. 

The Secretary of the Navy, in his report submitted 
to the President, July 4, 1801, says of the size of the 
navy: 

"Excluding vessels on the stocks, those unfinished, 
those used as stationary storeships and receiving-ships, 



14 

and those considered inexpedient to repair, the avail- 
able force of the navy is sixty-nine vessels." Of this 
force forty-two were in commission (as it was termed), 
and of the twelve belonging to the Home sqnadron, 
only fonr small vessels, carrying twenty-five guns and 
about two hundred and eighty men, were in IS^orthern 
ports. And again, in his report five months later; 
namely, Dec. 2, 1861, the Secretary said, " The Home 
squadron consisted of twelve vessels, and of these only 
four w^ere in j^orthern ports and available for service." 
The remaining vessels of the Home squadron were in 
Southern waters, and the other ships, not of the Home 
squadron, were in the Mediterranean, ofi" the coast of 
Brazil, the coast of Africa, and in the East Indies. 
What an insignificant force were these four small 
vessels with which to undertake a gigantic war involv- 
ing as one item the blockade of three thousand miles 
of sea-coast and more than thirty-five hundred miles of 
river navigation ! 

There Avere, as the Secretary says, only four small 
vessels ready for immediate service; nearly one-half of 
our navy-yards were in hostile territory; and to them 
had been transferred in advance a large portion of the 
ordnance and stores fit for use. Many of the officers, 
especially those of Southern birth, had decided to " go 
with their State," as it was termed, or were hesitating 
in their decision, and the loyal people of the country 
had no realization that Ave were actually entering upon 
a bloody and protracted war. The Government at 
Washington, however, did realize the fact, and the 
Avisest counsellors were at their Avits' end to solve the 
problem of successfully dealing Avith so grave a matter. 
MeanAvhile, diplomatic uneasiness Avas increasing, and 
the difficulty of preserving equilibrium Avith other 



15 

nations was all the time growing more imminent; and 
the half-fear, half-impatience of our people at the sup- 
posed delay of etFective action by our own Government 
was daily becoming more formidable. At this juncture, 
the Secretary of the JN^avy bought a hundred or more 
merchant vessels with the purpose of altering them so 
as to carry batteries, and otherwise fit them for naval 
service. These were distributed among private ship- 
yards, as well as the still loyal navy-yards; and the new 
activity seemed for a time to allay the public complaint 
and anxiety, but did not extinguish either. All re- 
member the much criticised remark of Mr. Seward, 
about this time, that " the w^hole disturbance would be 
over in ninety days," or words to that effect. Some 
persons, then and since, have supposed that Mr. Seward 
was mistaken in his estimate, but, if there was any one 
man of that administration besides President Lincoln 
who correctly nnderstood the situation of affairs, that 
man was "William H. Seward, the Secretary of State. 
Mr. Seward's statement, therefore, must be regarded 
as purely a diplomatic utterance; in which he perilled 
his own reputation for sagacity foi* the triple purpose 
of quieting foreign powers, composing our own people, 
and gaining time for the Secretary of the Xavy to suc- 
cessfully accomplish his work. It was rumored in offi- 
cial circles, at that time, in Washington, that Secretary 
Welles was, after all, obliged privately to ask the ship- 
yards not to hurry the alterations of the merchant 
vessels, because he had no guns to equip them with if 
immediately finished; and thus the last dilemma might 
be worse than the first. 

A still further embarrassment arose from the fact 
that the higher offices of the navy were then filled with 
respectable gentlemen, some of education, fortune, 



16 

political influence, and eminent social position, yet 
manifestly unfit for such commands as their rank en- 
titled them to, if ordered into actual war service. IS^o 
personal objection could be made to these gentlemen, 
and it was the desire of the Government to shield them 
from every possible indication of its disrespect. It was 
absolutely necessary, however, that most of these men 
should be retired, or their places upon the active list 
be made vacant, which was substantially the same 
thing ; but how this could be done without wounding 
the sensibilities of the officers affected, or their friends, 
was an embarrassing problem, and although its solution 
was attempted with the most absolute fairness both in 
legislative and executive departments, it was practically 
impossible to avoid all heart-burnings and complaints 
in its accomplishment. 

Upon his decision to abide with the l^orth, or with 
the Union, after the passage of the ordinance of seces- 
sion by the Virginia Convention, Farragut went direct- 
ly to ^ew York and took up his residence at Hastings, 
on the Hudson River, and there waited results. From 
Hastings he was called to AYashington "to assist the 
IS^avy Department in the delicate but necessary dis- 
crimination to be made between the competent officers 
and those disabled by age or other infirmity." Probably 
no duty more distasteful to his generous and warm- 
hearted nature could have been assigned to him, es- 
pecially as he had not wholly escaped criticism himself 
on the score of bias or prejudice arising from his birth- 
place and associations. This criticism, however, had no 
efi'ect whatever upon himself, and very little upon the 
public mind ; therefore, he assumed without hesitation 
the unwelcome duty, supported substantially by the uni- 
versal confidence of the Government and of the country. 



17 

A little later on I well remember the anxiety which 
pervaded the 'Navy Department when the expedition 
against 'New Orleans was projected. It was felt that 
an officer of large experience, thorough loyalty, and 
fruitful in expedients for such emergencies as might 
arise in an undertaking so novel and so dangerous 
was indispensable as a leader. Rear Admiral Joseph 
Smith, the veteran chief of the Bureau of Yards and 
Docks, and Mr. Gustavus Y. Fox, the Assistant Sec- 
retary of the ISTavy, were warm advocates of Captain 
Farragut, and he was finally selected with entire unan- 
imity by all concerned. It is not necessary to Admiral 
Farragut's reputation to claim that he originated the 
plan of the expedition to JSTew Orleans and the bold and 
chivalrous idea of passing the two forts of Jackson and 
St. Philip which guarded the approaches to the city on 
either side of the river. The credit of the conception 
of the idea and of substantially maturing the j^lan 
adopted by the Department for its execution belong to 
Mr. Fox, the Assistant Secretary of the IS'avy ; but the 
point which immediately concerns us now is that Far- 
ragut was selected for its achievement, because he was 
believed to be the best officer of eligible rank to whom 
the expedition could be intrusted. Farragut was de- 
lighted both with this evidence of the confidence of the 
Government in his ability and loyalty, and in the rare 
opportunity the appointment would afford to serve his 
country. 

Of the two forts, Jackson on the right bank of the 
Mississippi and St. Philip on the left bank, Jackson 
was much the stronger, and is described as " a case- 
mated brick structure, pentagonal in form, carrying en 
harhette over the casemates twenty-seven cannon of 
and above the size of thirty-two pounders^ besides eleven 



18 

twenty-four pounders. In the casemates were fourteen 
twenty-four pounders." Fort St. Philip was nearly op- 
jDosite and so placed as not only to command the river in 
front but to sweep any approaching vessels in the stream. 
" It comprised the fort proper and two water batteries, 
which together mounted forty-two guns. " " The sites 
of these fortifications, " says Captain Mahan, " had been 
skilfully chosen, but their armaments, though formidable 
and greatly superior to those of the fleet, were not equal 
to the demands of the occasion. " In addition to the 
forts the Confederates constructed a barrier across the 
river, just below the forts and under their fire, consist- 
ing of the hulks of eight schooners bound together by 
h'on cables and held by anchors to their places in the 
stream. The object being, of course, to obstruct the 
passage of the Union squadron, and to hold it possibly 
under the fire of the forts, if an attempt to pass were 
made. The Confederates also had another flotilla of 
obstructions farther up the river, and above Fort St. 
Philip ; so that, in case the Union squadron should by 
possibility pass the lower obstruction, it would encoun- 
ter the second in a spot where it would be directly un- 
der the fire of both forts. 

The fleet of Farragut consisted of nineteen ships, 
divided into three divisions; the first division consisting 
of eight, the second of three, and the third of eight, 
including Commander Porter's, gunboats, which are 
here counted as one. The leader of the second or cen- 
tre division was the " Hartford," Farragut's fiag-ship. 
The original idea seems to have been that Porter's 
mortar fleet would reduce the forts, and that then the 
other vessels would pass up the river and take posses- 
sion of the city; and the instructions from the 'Navj 
Department rather favored this idea, or at least were 



]9 

sufficiently indefinite to allow of that interpretation. 
It may be here remarked that the prevailing idea, both 
in the Confederate councils and in those of the Union, 
was that if JSTew Orleans was to be attacked at all, it 
would be, perhaps must be, from the ISTorth rather than 
from the sea; and it was thought that the difficulty of 
passing the bar at the mouth of the river with large 
vessels, the two forts and the flotillas affiDrded ample 
protection from attack from the latter direction. 

This idea was current until the time of Mr. Fox's 
conception of the attack committed to Farragut's ex- 
ecution. While the larger vessels were being dragged 
over the bar, therefore. Porter's mortar fleet entered 
the river and proceeded to attach the forts. After six 
days of bombardment, during which the guns of the 
fleet were worked with great precision, very little dam- 
age was done to the forts. Two of the gunboats, the 
^' Itaska " and the " Pinola," were sent upon the daring 
and dangerous duty of destroying the flotilla hulks 
chained across the river and, as has been said, within 
range of the forts. After various unsuccessful and 
perilous attempts to break the cables Avith which the 
flotilla was chained, the " Itaska," by a most daring rush 
against them, broke the cables and made an available 
breach in the line. In the meantime, Farragut saw 
that the reduction of the forts by the mortar fleet was 
practically impossible; and a less daring and cour- 
ageous spirit than his might have given up further 
attempts to reach ISTew Orleans and still keep within 
the letter of his instructions; but he was a man as fer- 
tile in expedients as he was indomitable in courage, 
and after much meditation and consultation, he deter- 
mined, even against high and authoritative opinion, to 
attempt to run the fleet past the forts before the latter 



20 

had been reduced by the mortar boats; he accordingly 
gave orders in detail for this adventurous effort, at the 
same time giving notice that further particulars would 
be given from time to time, by signal, as circumstances 
might develop their necessity. " It was the prelude 
to a drama of singular energy and grandeur, for the 
Confederates in their forts were fully on guard and had 
anticipated with unshaken courage, but with gloomy 
forebodings, an attack during that very night." " There 
will be no to-morrow for ^ew Orleans," said the un- 
daunted commander of Fort Jackson, the day before, 
"if the [Confederate] navy does not at once move the 
^ Louisiana ' to the position assigned to her close to the 
obstructions." The " Louisiana " was a powerful Con- 
federate iron-clad battery not quite completed when 
Farragut entered the river. The order to prepare for 
the attack was given, and the ships wei*e put in order 
as quickly as possible; the rigging was reduced as far 
as practicable, the wooden sides of the vessels were 
protected by chains run fore and aft over the portions 
outside the engines and boilers, and at last all was ready, 
both oflflcers and crews meanwhile holding their breath 
in suspense of expectation. The passage of the forts 
was a spectacle and an experience which baffles alike 
the efforts of the pen to describe or the imagination to 
conceive. The darkness of the night, the teriific thun- 
derings of the forts, and the still louder belchings 
of the fleet, the fire of floating rafts and discarded 
property, the smoke of wrecks and of cannon, the 
shrieks of the wounded, and the upturned faces of the 
dead, — all commingled to present in tragic majesty the 
multiplied horrors possible in war; but the victory was 
achieved, and the Union squadron road proudly upon 
the waters in front of New Orleans. 



21 

In the first flush of victory Farragut wrote home 
thus tenderly: 

"Off New Orleans, Flag-Ship 'Hartford', 

"April 25, 1862. 
" My dearest Wife and Boy : I am so agitated that I can scarcely 
write, and shall only tell you that it has pleased Almighty God to 
preserve my life through a fire such as the world has scarcely known. 
I shall return properly my thanks, as well as those of our fleet, for 
His goodness and mercy. He has permitted me to make a name for 
my dear boy's inheritance, as well as for my comfort and that of my 
family. We lost about thirty killed and ninety wounded. I lost no 
officers. . . . All the oflflcers did theu' duty to my admii-ation, 
which I shall notice at a more convenient season, I have only time 
to thank God and bless you both. Give my love to the family and 
all the neighbors. 

"D. G. F." 

He appointed eleven o'clock on the following morn- 
ning (the 26th) as the hour " for all the ofiicers and 
crews to return thanks to Almighty God for His great 
goodness in permitting them to pass through the events 
of the last two days with so little loss of life and 
blood." 

Time and your patience will alike compel me to 
pass over the attack upon Vicksburg, Port Hudson, 
and the rest, each of which in its chivalric incidents 
was sufficient to establish the skill and intrepidity of 
any commander of any age; but the main points of our 
hero's story would be incomplete without a few words 
about Mobile, the last of the Confederate maritime 
strongholds to be captured. 

ISText to ^ew Orleans, Mobile was the most impor- 
tant sea-port of the Confederacy, and under the pressure 
of war became well-nigh indispensable to its contin- 
uance. Its reduction was, therefore, a matter of prime 
importance to the Union cause. The Confederates 



09 



naturally concentrated theii* utmost resources for its 
defence, in wliicb tliey ^ere aided by their war experi- 
ence and in tiuiely preparation after it was known that 
an attack by the Union forces was probable. AYhile 
fewer problems for its capture were presented for 
solution than at Xew Orleans, perhaps even greater 
practical skill and leadership were necessary; for this 
leadership both the Government and the people looked 
to Farragut; not that he was the only officer in the 
service competent to manage an intricate and perilous 
expedition, but because there was a general impression 
that, in some mysterious way, he reached victory every- 
where, and was well-nigh invincible. 

It wiU be remembered that the Bay of Mobile, at the 
head of which the city is located, makes up into the 
land about thirty miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and 
the navigation is difficult, owing to shoals and iskmds 
in the shape of natural obstacles; and upon the right 
approach, on what is called Mobile Point, was a formi- 
dable fortification, Fort Morgan, mounting eighty-six 
guns of various calibre, and on the left approach, on 
Dauphin Island, was Fort Gaines, another, though not 
equally formidable fort. In front of Dauphin Island 
was a far-reaching shoal, rendei'ing the draft of water 
so shallow as to crowd all passing vessels neai* to Fort 
Morsran. The Confederates had also constructed a 
formidable h-on-clad ram — the " Tennessee " — and had 
planted the bay in the vicinity of the forts with torpe- 
does, in the hope and belief that if Farragut's fleet 
should escape the fire of the forts, it would be destroyed 
by the torpedoes in any attempt made to approach the 
city. Farragut's fleet consisted of niueteen vessels, iu- 
cludinsr fom- ii'on-clads, two of which were built for 
river service on the Mississippi. There was the usual 



23 

almost inevitable delay in getting the squadron to- 
gether and ready for action, during which there were 
also the customary fluctuations of hope and fear. To 
Farragut, especially, the engagement would be fraught 
with immeasurable consequences ; for with his reputa- 
tion for success, failure from whatever cause could 
hardly have saved his fame, while success in this addi- 
tional instance could add little to it, because he would 
simply do what was almost universally expected. He 
was also very much worn out with long service and 
anxiety; but the moral grandeur as well as the physical 
importance of the occasion took possession of him, and 
his splendid abilities again rose to the emergency, and 
he was once more the same grand sea king that will 
inhabit the imagination of men in all coming time. As 
at ^ew Orleans, the capture of Mobile and of the forts 
was to be made by the cooperation of the land forces 
with the navy. At Mobile no attempt was seriously 
to be made to reduce the forts by the gun-boats, but 
the purpose was to run by them, and by getting between 
them and the city, cut off supplies and make their 
surrender inevitable. 

At about half-past five o'clock on the morning of the 
5th of August (1864:), having learned that the wind 
was in the right quarter, the Admiral said to Captain 
Percival Drayton, who commanded the " Hartford," 
while still sipping his tea at breakfxst, " Well, Dray- 
ton, we might as well get under way." The signal for 
which all the vessels were waiting was given, and the 
ships were arranged in pairs, side by side, the " Meta- 
comet," Lieut.-Commander James E. Jouett, being- 
lashed to the "Hartford;" the monitors Avere standing- 
down from Sand Island, the flag-ship crossed the bar, and 
all the vessels hoisted the United States flag at the peak 



24 

and masthead as well, and it was evident that the 
squadron " meant business." The " Tecumseh " led the 
iron-clads, and the " Brooklyn " the wooden ships, Far- 
ragut having yielded his purpose to lead with the 
" Hartford " to the persuasion of his officers, who did not 
wish him to be exposed to so great peril as the leader- 
ship would involve, and the "Hartford" took the second 
place. While the monitors were taking their stations, 
the " Tecumseh," which led the column, fired two shots 
at the fort, and the order of battle being now fully formed, 
the fleet went ahead. Fort Morgan soon opened fire 
upon the "Brooklyn," which at once replied with her 
bow guns, followed very soon by those of the fighting 
column of wooden ships. " In the midst of the vigorous 
cannonade, in order to see more clearly, Farragut 
climbed up and took his position in the port main 
rigging. As the smoke increased, Farragut went up 
step by step until he was close under the maintop." 
Here he was near the j^ilot, who had been sent aloft, and 
the whole scene of battle spread out under his eyes; 
but Captain Drayton, being alarmed lest he might be 
thrown to the deck or into the sea, sent a seaman up to 
lash the Admiral to the rigging. 

" Shortly after the monitors and the bow guns of the 
fleet began firing, " says Captain Mahan, " the enemy's 
gunboats and the iron-clad ' Tennessee ' moved out 
from behind Fort Morgan and took an enlihiding po- 
sition. " The two columns of iron-clads, and the wood- 
en ships lashed together in pairs, as before stated, wei'e 
soon approaching the line of torpedoes and the narrow 
channel of safety. " All promised fairly, provided the 
leaders of the two columns pushed rapidly and unhesi- 
tatingly in the direction assigned them. But almost 
at the same moment doubt seized the leaders and led 



25 

to a double disaster" ; namely, the loss of the "Te- 
cumseh " and the confusion of the fleet. A sigpi^i was 
soon made to the " Brooklyn " to " go ahead," but her 
commander probably misunderstood the signal, or " j^er- 
haps between his orders to pass east of the buoy and 
the difficulty of doing so, owing to the position into 
which his own vessel and the monitors had fallen," re- 
mained motionless. It was a moment of supreme anx- 
iety, and Farragut, as he afterwards said, solemnly ap- 
pealed to Heaven, saying, " O God, who created man 
and gave him reason, direct me what to do ! Shall I go 
on ? " "And it seemed, " said the Admiral, " as if in an- 
swer, a voice commanded, ' Go on.' " Quick as a flash 
Farragut obeyed what he interpreted as the Divine di- 
rection and moved forward; as he passed a hesitating 
ship of the squadron, a warning cry came from her of 
" torpedoes ahead." " Damn the torpedoes ! " shouted 
the Admiral in a transport of excitement, and elated 
by his dauntless purpose. " Four bells, Captain Dray- 
ton. Go ahead, Jouett, full speed ! " And on he went 
where death was most threatening and danger most 
appalling. "As they passed the buoys the rubbing 
of the cases of the torpedoes was heard against the 
bottom of the ship and many of the primers snapped 
audibly, bat no torpedo exploded," and again it 
was marvellously said that Farragut had a "charmed 
life." 

It is not expedient to follow the incidents of the bat- 
tle any farther, nor to tell in detail of the gallant bear- 
ing and action of the officers of all the wooden ships 
and monitors, nor of the subsequent engagement of the 
forts, the attack upon and mastery of the Confederate 
iron-clad " Tennessee," the wounding of Admiral Bu- 
chanan of the opposing fleet, and his early surrender. 



2G 



Mobile was ours, and Farragiit the greatest of naval 
heroes. 

We need not abate one tittle of our gratitude and ad- 
miration for the soldiers of the Union Army, profuse 
as these have always been for their priceless services 
in saving the country from destruction, in order that 
we may give a like offering of praise and thankfulness 
to the officers and sailors who so magnificently cooper- 
ated in this work of patriotism and gaHantry. JSTeither 
need we fear that any noble-minded soldier would have 
us withhold our enthusiastic devotion to the navy. 
And I say without hesitation that a more heroic, faith- 
ful, and persistent body of men never carried muskets 
on the field nor trod the decks of a fighting squadron 
than those who in the past composed and in the present 
constitute, as I believe, the naval force of the United 
States. God bless them all for their fidelity and 
courage, and preserve in them and their successors 
these inestimable virtues! 

It has been asked if Farragut was really a great 
man? Yes, great in his vocation, where most men show 
greatness if they have any. He had not the philosophy 
of Dr. Franklin, nor the statesmanship of Webster, nor 
the eloquence of Choate, nor the poetical graces of 
LongfelloAv; but neither had any one of these the quali- 
ties of all the others; but Farragut had some of the 
qualities of each, including a poetic fiincy, and some 
qualities which neither of them possessed. As a 
strategist he had something of the quality that Em- 
erson had as a poet — he was not only practical but 
mystical; he had keen and faultless sagacity, delicate 
intuitions, wonderful penetration, and great staying 
power; and, in the language of our day, the habit 
of " getting there." To the masses of people he was 



27 

a kind of nautical wizard; to them, at least, he had 
power 

" To call spmts from the vasty deep," 

marshal them into battle on his side, and bid them pen- 
etrate the hidden channels of success until they should 
light, at last, with unerring certainty like eagles upon 
his victorious banners. 

He was a man of well-defined and inflexible 
principles ; a sense of duty was the governing power 
of his life. Of this inflexibility no further evidence 
need be given than his decision, at the opening of 
the Kebellion, to abide with the Union cause. It 
will be remembered that Farragut was a native of 
Tennessee, and that his domestic aflSliations were 
even nearer with Virginia than with Tennessee. His 
residence was at ]^orfolk, where there was then as 
now a navy-yard, and many naval officers whose 
sympathies were then with " allegiance to the State " 
rather than to the nation. Daily gatherings where 
such sentiments were encouraged were held. In 
one such, on the morning of the day when it was 
announced that the ordinance of secession had been 
])assed by the Virginia Convention, Farragut hap- 
pening to be present, expressed freely his dissatis- 
faction at the action of the convention, and openly 
justified the course of President Lincoln in calling 
for troops after the seizure of the forts and arsenals. 
For this he was " impatiently informed," says his 
son, 'Hhat a person of his sentiments could not live 
in Norfolk;" to which he calmly replied, "Well, then 
I can live somewhere else." To his noble wife, herself 
a native of JS^orfolk, he said, " This act of mine may 
cause years of separation from your family, so you 



28 

must decide quickly whether you will go IS^orth or 
remain here." Her decision was immediate to accom- 
pany her husband. 

He was a devout Christian, but not of the clamorous 
or demonstrative sort ; he was always hopeful, gen- 
erous, trustful, and self-reliant. I think he counted 
himself in a large degree a man of destiny ; he 
dared on his own account, but felt safest when he 
had hold of the hand of the Almighty. As a man 
he was dignified and self-possessed ; proud of the 
services rendered to his country and heartily enjoyed 
their recital ; but he was the very incarnation of 
modesty, and quailed like a timid maiden before 
superfluous praise and adulation. There was not the 
slighest condescension in his bearing ; he had nothing 
of the austere mannerism of men who are great (or 
think they are) in little things ; but all his intercourse 
was frank, cordial, and sincere. There was also a 
vein of humor in his composition which enabled him 
to draw amusement from observing the foibles of 
men and from the incidents of society. At one time 
while a guest at my house, the serving-man at table 
was about to fill his glass with water, when the 
Admiral quietly passed his hand over the top of it 
and playfully remarked, "IN^one of that inside of me 
to-day, if you please, though I usually like about 
three or four fathoms under my keel." 

There is something supremely interesting in the 
love of a sailor for his ship. It is not unlike the 
attachment of an enamored groom for his bride ; there 
is in it an absorption for the time being of the 
whole power of the soul, and an intense impression 
of personality, as if the ship were a living thing 
and conscious of every sentiment of her commander. 



29 

Farragut was no exception to this rule. During the 
progress of the Rebellion vast changes and improve- 
ments were made in the construction and equipment 
of naval vessels, including monitors, iron-clads, etc.; 
yet in a conversation with the Admiral after the 
war was over, I asked him what kind of a war-ship 
he would build after all his experience. He waited 
for a moment and then said, " She would be ver}'- 
like the ^Hartford,' sir." The "Hartford," you will 
remember, was his old flag-ship, in which he had 
suffered his greatest perils and won his most con- 
spicuous victories. 

In the same conversation I asked him, " What did 
you expect when you entered Mobile Bay ? " He 
instantly replied, "To take the place, of course." — 
" Yes," said I, " but why ^ of course ' ? To common 
observers the chances, if not even, would seem to 
have been against you. The Confederates had about 
as strong a naval force as you had and an equal 
variety of vessels ; besides, they had planted the 
Bay with torpedoes and had two cooperating forts ; 
and the ordinary estimate has been that one gun in 
position on land is equal to four of like calibre afloat ; 
and you yourself have given to Admiral Buchanan 
credit for high naval skill and ability ; therefore 
the ^of course' does not seem to me apparent. Do 
you mean," I continued, "that you had a clearly 
defined plan the working out of which would give 
you victory ? " He waited a moment before rejDlying, 
and then said, " Well, I never go into a battle 
without a well settled plan, and I am never so 
wedded to my plan that I cannot abandon it at any 
moment when I find the circumstances different from 
what I anticipated." This, I think, was very charac- 



30 

teristic of him ; and I have been told by naval men 
that this was probably the grand secret of his success 
in Mobile Bay. His opponent, Admiral Buchanan, 
was not wanting in bravery and was well versed in 
naval tactics. He had probably anticipated Farragut's 
l^lan up to the time of the sinking of the " Tecumseh; " 
but then Farragut abandoned his plan, threw his 
opponent into confusion, and by "dealing with the 
circumstances as he found them," snatched victory 
from impending defeat before the astonished eyes of 
both friends and foes. 

I have been reminded by the Hon. F. W. Lincoln, 
then Mayor of Boston, that Admiral Farragut visited 
this city in 1865, when he stated that he had not been 
here before for forty years, but that he then sailed from 
our navy-yard a young officer. He participated in the 
Fourth of July celebration of 1865 in Boston, was pres- 
ent at the oration, was in the procession to Faneuil Hall, 
made a speech at the dinner, and afterwards held a re- 
ception in the same hall, where thousands of citizens took 
him by the hand. He was also entertained at dinner 
at the Union Club, and received numerous hospitalities 
at the hands of the Mayor and of eminent citizens. He 
also had an excursion down the Harbor, visited Fort 
Warren and other notable places, and was every- 
where enthusiastically received with the honors due 
to his rank and fame. Our distinguished Dr. Oliver 
"Wendell Homes, poet-laureate by popular designation 
if not by royal appointment, saluted him with an 
appropriate poem, which was published in the " Tran- 
script " of August 1, 1865. 

Admiral Lessoffsky, commander of a Russian fleet 
which came here the year before, often expressed his 
admiration for Farragut, who, he delighted to say, was 



one of the greatest naval commanders the world has 
ever seen ; and that this sentiment has not died ont in 
the great northern empire, is shown by the visit to the 
Admiral's tomb, at Woodlawn Cemetery, by the officers 
of the Russian fleet which visited the harbor of J^ew 
York a month ago, and by the touching eulogy there 
made by its commander. All of which is reenforced 
by the Russian ships here present and speaking for 
themselves to-day. 

And now, fellow-citizens, while the story is but half 
told, and that imperfectly, the moment has arrived when 
words no longer have potential significance. Unveil 
the statue, and let the bronze lips forevermore accen- 
tuate his fame! 

Army of the Potomac, Grand Army of the Republic, 
soldiers, sailors, marines, veterans, guests, whoever may 
be present, thrice welcome all; let us give a thousand 
cheers for the artist who has so happily caught the 
pose and delineated the features of the famous original! 
Ten thousand more for the great Sea King himself! 
Wave around him the flag of the country he loved so 
much! Let these salvos of artillery be to our ears the 
echoes of his thundering squadrons! And while 
chiming bells and martial strains fill the air with mel- 
ody, let all our hearts renew their tributes of admiration, 
afi'ection, and gratitude to the peerless Admiral, the in- 
corruptible patriot, the altogether noble man. 



Ill III I Jii ; III I 

013 "09 653 B « 




